Is it normal that my family thinks there's a demon in the house?

Okay, full disclosure, I'm not sold on the paranormal. I can't say for sure that it doesn't exist but I have no reason to believe it either.

This all started because of my eleven year old brother. He watches a lot of horror movies, so I attribute this to that, and he's always been a weird kid. Anyway, we moved into a new house two years ago and he immediately had a seizure. It was pretty creepy, actually. I was babysitting him and he ran into my room to ask if it was normal to see people standing around his bed in a circle. I was creeped out, checked, and then gave him a nightlight in his room figuring it was shadows. He ran into my room a few minutes later screaming about a man with no face who was following him. He was legit having a near panic attack pointing at my empty doorway. Then he fell out and began fizzing at the mouth. I called 911 and it was handled. The doctors said that before having seizures some small children see hallucinations which is a decent explanation in my opinion.

The second follow up is that my brother has always been a heavy sleeper. One time I was walking past his bedroom at 2 or 3 AM to head to bed and he was growling "Hey little girl. C'mere. I have something to show you." It was his voice so I just kinda went "Boy, go to bed, It's late" and walked in his room. He was asleep. He sleep talks a lot and we'd just seen 'It' together recently so I just went to bed. My dad told me that one day he walked past and heard him say "Get over here" in his sleep. My dad just shrugged it off and went to sleep.

We told our extended family and they're CONVINCED there's a demon. I just think everything has explanations. My family has a history of schizophrenia and we've lived here for two years. I've never had any experiences and my brother is a sleep-talker with seizures who watches a lot of scary movies. I took his access away recently, and nothing has happened since.

Today my uncle called me though. He said that he saw something too when he'd lived here before us, and seemed scared. I guess that scared me a bit more. He's married in so the schizophrenia addition doesn't include him. I think that's bullshit though. He saw a demon and let his brother in law plus three kids move in after?

Addition, my family is religious. Maybe why they're so quick to go the demon route. My sister and I aren't, so we're constantly being scorned for joking about "beez-luh-boob". I'm going away to university in August so I dont really have to deal and I also know that my dad is looking at other houses. This is just a bizarre experience. Are they normal for thinking in such a way? How can I de-escalate the situation?

Voting Results
64% Normal
Based on 14 votes (9 yes)
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Comments ( 1 )
  • deicidal

    I'd say in some ways it can be a normal way of thinking, but if it gets in the way of any legitimate mental or physical health issues, then it should be discussed further - some people believe in ghosts and demons and etc, and some dont. Obviously, a belief for religious reasons can be fine as long as it isnt harmful to someone or gets in the way of day to day life.
    For de-escalating the situation I'd be sure that everyone has the full details involving your brother loving horror movies and just generally sleep-talking. If they refuse to listen I think it's possible to ask for a member of the church to have a discussion with them to try and explain that not everything can be attributed to demons or spirits.
    If things continue to escalate and you feel like there could be a risk of physical or psychological harm to your brother then please try to contact someone who can help.
    I hope things calm down for you and your family soon.

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